Chosen (Part 2)
by The Gray Ninja246
Summary: Long ago, a land in turmoil cried out for a hero. They begged for anyone or anything to save them from the massing forces of evil, led by the evil Lord Garmadon. Years later, in the midst of this turmoil appears five young people, four men and one very special girl, who may just be the ones chosen long ago to be the protectors of the Chosen One. (Continues on from Chosen)
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, have a long wait, I _finally_ am posting the second part of _Chosen_! Yay!  
**

**Sorry if it took a while, but I kept having some writer's block moments (I'm still stuck on an important part of this story, so hang in there with me). But, due to the amount of begging that some of you guys put in the reviews (BTW, thanks for the ratings on the, well, the opening part, I guess), I just couldn't keep torturing you guys anymore. ;)**

**Also, I changed the rating, because there will be some fighting. Just thought I would warn you. But it comes later. Still, better to be safe than sorry, right? And plus, the chapters will be longer in Part 2 than in Part 1, because more things will be taking place.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ninjago**

* * *

Chapter 1

Cole and Emily swung themselves up onto their horses with ease. Zane, thanks to his long legs, had no problem pulling himself up into his saddle, although he did fidget around a bit. Jay and Kai both, who had never seen a horse before in person, looked scared out of their minds.

Cole had to bite his lip to keep from smiling, while Emily was silently laughing.

"Come on, you two," Cole said to Jay and Kai, "it's not that hard." He slid out of his saddle, and walked over to Thunder, Jay's stallion, and Firestorm, Kai's mare.

"It's quite easy," he told them reassuringly, "look. You put your left foot in this stirrup; with your left hand grasp the horn of the saddle, and the other hand you hold onto the back. Once you've done those, pull yourself up, swing your right leg over, and then _voila!_ You're in your saddle."

"Demonstration, please?" Kai asked politely.

Cole demonstrated what he meant, while repeating what he said.

"You guys okay?" he asked them once they got on their horses.

"Um, Thunder won't take off running the second we're out of the stables, will he?" Jay asked nervously, his blue eyes big with fear.

"No, he knows a new rider when he feels one," Cole replied.

Blank stares.

"A horse is sensitive to their rider's emotions," he explained, "to their feelings. If you're in a bad mood, the horse will react in a certain way. If you're scared, nervous, sad, happy…well, you get the picture."41

"Anything else we need to know?"

"Yeah. Do not tense up for whatever reason. Think of it as swimming. Whenever you're relaxed, you float. But whenever you become tense, or stiff, what happens?"

"You sink," Kai replied.

"That's the same concept while riding. Whenever you tense up, your horse will start to sag. Anything else?"

"Um…I'm scared?"

"Don't be. Once we get going, that fear will melt away. Got it?"

"Sure do."

"Great. Is that all?"

Silence.

Cole walked back over to Night and climbed back up. He turned and looked at Emily, who met him straight in the eye, her piercing, stormy blue-gray eyes shone with determination.

"Since you're the one that knows where this place is, it's only right for you to lead," Cole said.

Emily didn't reply. She only gave a curt nod, than wheeled Storm around to face the stable doors.

They were opened, and Emily led the way out. Storm shook her head, which sent her mane flying.

Cole trotted next to her as they set off towards the Forest of Shadows.

"I'm going to go to the back and help Jay and Kai," he told her while looking over his shoulder. Jay and Kai were looking terrified. Cole suppressed a smile.

Emily smiled at him. "Yeah. I could tell that those two needed some help the second that they saw the horses."

Cole halted and waited for Zane to go by, who looked pretty calm and relaxed, despite this being his first time on a horse.

Once Jay and Kai had gone by him, Cole kicked Night to get her going again.

"How you guys feeling back there?" Emily called from the front.

"A little nervous," Jay called back.

"Feeling great, despite this is the firs time that I've ridden a horse," was Kai's reply.

"Just thought I'd let you guys know that we're never going to get to the place at this rate, so we're going to speed things up to a fast trot!"

"Don't worry; you'll do fine," Cole said to Jay and Kai, "besides, you've got me right here. We're ready back here, Emily!"

The horses started to pick up speed.

"Don't tense up, don't tense up," Jay muttered to himself, his eyes squeezed shut.

"I never knew this would be so fun!" Kai commented to Cole.

"Yeah. But this is _nothing_ compared to the breakneck speed of a full gallop. The wind in your face, the smell of pine trees after a good thunderstorm, listening to the birds, you can't get that in Ninjago City," Cole replied.

"Yeah. My little sister, Nya, and I would come out here just for the fun of it. It's great being out here. There are no vehicles, no city lights, no pizza shop or arcade." Kai looked around, "I like it."

"There's no electricity!" Jay complained.

"Do you really think that my family lives by candlelight 24/7?" Cole asked Jay.

"Well, no. It's just that it's so barren out here."

Cole turned his head sharply to look at Jay. "_Barren?_ Jay, this place is _anything_ but barren. This place is _rich_ and bountiful in multiple things. Where do you think the eggs, the milk, the steaks come from? Where do you think your dinner overall comes from?" Cole lowered his voice. "Jay, the people that live out here are desperate. They grow their own food; raise their own cattle and chickens. They have to make a living, one way or another. Otherwise they'll die," Cole's voice turned sad and he looked down at the ground. "Everyday, more and more people come to this place." Cole halted Night and looked down over a ridge. Kai and Jay stopped also.

Cole pointed to the small groups of people that were heading towards the village. "Those people have traveled for miles around, looking for a place to stay. My father gives me orders to check on them every week and I do it." Cole's voice grew sadder yet. A single teardrop fell down his cheek. "There are women and children walking along the streets with thin faces and bodies. Every time they see me, they beg me to help them. I'm helpless. It torments me to see them in pain, starving, and dying. Being a prince isn't always exactly glamorous. I don't hang out with gorgeous princesses, or the pretty duchesses, or the cute ladies like I should be. Come next week, I have no choice _but_ to choose someone that I have to marry. And it's not going to be a happy marriage for me."

They started walking again.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jay asked, confused.

Cole sighed. "I can choose whomever I want, as long as she comes from another royal family."

"Cole!" Emily's frantic voice called for him.

"I hate that voice," Cole muttered to Jay and Kai. He kicked Night to go faster.

"What is it?" Cole asked Emily once he reached her. She slid off of Storm, walked a little ways, and then knelt down. She stood back up and turned around; her eyes blazing with fury.

"Those fools," she hissed, "I had hoped that they had learned their lesson the first time."

"What…" Cole started to say.

A twig cracked. Emily fitted an arrow onto her bow…that just mysteriously appeared out of nowhere? A bush rustled. Out of the shadow-covered trees appeared a magnificent buck.

He had six points on each side. He stood with dignity, pride and calmness.

Emily slowly raised her bow, aimed, and then let the arrow fly. It hit the buck. He fell, remaining his calm.

Emily slowly walked towards the buck, Cole following. They reached down, picked the buck up by the antlers, and then dragged him back to where Zane, Jay, and Kai were still on their horses.

"Alright, this is where we set up camp," she announced. She looked at the twilight sky. Cole looked up also.

The sky was a navy blue, streaked with pink, orange, and red. On the horizon, a small smidgen of yellow slowly sank beneath the trees. The moon was full, and the stars were coming out.

"Cole, get the firewood," Emily's voice broke through his thoughts, "Jay, get out the sleeping bags, Zane and Kai, you help me with the horses."

Cole dashed off; Jay and Kai struggled off their horses; and Zane had no problem whatsoever getting off (again, thanks to his long legs).

* * *

**Okay, I've got a little explaining to do.**

**1.) I must have been half asleep whenever I was typing the part about the village, so, I've no idea how that even came up, in case you were wondering.**

**2.) _Chosen (Part Two)_ will be so much longer than Part One, because this is when the five begin their training**

**3.) In case you're confused about the Seer (and you are about 99.9% probably are), I'm getting to him. In the next few chapters, I'll tell you about him more. Okay?**

**Until I get the next chapter out, have a good day/night, have a great week, and peace.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I apologize _soooo_ much for not updating for weeks, but you've got every author's (least) favorite friend to blame it on: writer's block. **

**Okay, first, I've got some great news: THE NEW SEASON COMES OUT THIS MONTH! I CAN'T WAIT FOR IT! If you haven't already, go see the trailer (it is _epic_).  
**

**So, while we're waiting for the first episode of Season 3 to come out, read.**

**And Lya200, we're going to have to wait and see about that...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ninjago**

**(P.S.: Before I forget, you guys should know that in this story, Emily is not Jay's younger twin sister [if you've read my profile and _Zane's Fate_]. Just thought I would clear that up in case you were wondering.)**

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Chapter 2

Zane slid off his mount, feeling sore after a day of nothing but riding. He took hold of Blizzard's reins and led him to a small nearby alcove of trees. Emily was already there with Night and Storm. Slightly to the left, Kai was struggling to get Firestorm to move. She snorted before leaning towards the ground, nuzzling a few tufts of green grass, snorting once before eating. Kai looked frustrated. Emily walked over to him and climbed onto Firestorm's back.

Emily gently pulled on Firestorm's reins, forcing the mare's head up. Firestorm shook her head, snorting, before walking towards the small cove of trees. Kai looked slightly outraged as Emily tied Firestorm securely to another tree, next to Blizzard.

The two horses brushed against each other in friendly greeting, nickering and whining softly. Night, Thunder, and Storm shook their heads, sending their long, magnificent manes flying.

"Are you magic?" Kai inquired Emily as she walked past him.

"No," she replied, draping her braid over her right shoulder. "I've dealt with horses for years. It's called experience, genius."

"Well, excuse _me_," Kai retorted dryly, "I didn't know." Emily snorted, flipping her head back. Her braid went swinging through the hair, hitting Kai's cheek. He glared at her, but she continued walking away from him.

"What?" he snapped at a grinning and giggly Jay, who was watching the scene with amusement glimmering in his blue eyes.

"Nothing," Jay snickered. Zane rolled his eyes. Was he _really_ going to have to live with this giggly, easily amused male and the hothead?

* * *

Kai was perched in a low-hanging branch, his almond brown, orange-yellow flecked eyes narrowed. He kept his eyes trained on Emily as she checked to make sure that everything was okay.

"Hey, where are you going?" Cole called after her after she started walking into the trees.

"Scout," she replied, walking backwards.

"Stick to the trees, and make sure that you are back within a few minutes." Cole lectured her like a parent. Emily rolled her eyes, sighing.

"Whatever you say, Your Highness," she said, turning back around. "After all, I'm sure that you know these treacherous woods better than I do." And with that, she melted into the shadows.

"Is she _always_ like that?" Kai asked, leaping down from his branch and landing off balance on the uneven ground. Jay jumped at Kai's sudden appearance.

"Kai, before I answer that question of yours, just let me tell you this," Cole said, "Emily is like a ninja. One second she's here, the next she's gone. There are times whenever I think that whenever she was born, her parents weren't humans; instead, she was born of living shadows."

"Wait," Jay began, leaning forward, "you said _weren't_. _Weren't_ is a negative contraction past tense verb. Are you saying that…"

"Emily's an orphan?" Cole interrupted him, "yes, yes I am." Sadness filled Cole's voice, forcing him to look deep into the fire.

The different shades of red, orange, and yellow created a seductive dance of colors, crossing Cole's face. His eyes, bottomless pit black with rich mud brown, deep evergreen green, and stone gray swirls and stripes, burned with an unreadable light.

"Tell me this, Cole," Emily's voice came ringing down from the tops of the trees, "why do you like sharing with people the information about my past? Answer truthfully."

"I'm just answering their questions!" Cole's voice sounded desperate. Emily scoffed.

"Yeah, sure," she snapped. Kai strained his eyes, looking for the supple form. He found her at the top of the tallest tree, leaning casually against the trunk of the tree, balancing perfectly on a thin branch. She leaped gracefully to the lower branches, making her way down to the ground. Whenever she was about twenty feet off the ground, she sprang off the branch. She performed some complicated twirls in the air before landing crouched on the ground next to Jay, who looked at her like he just saw an angel.

"Show off." Kai overheard Cole mutter. Kai rolled his eyes, but he couldn't help but agree.

"You're jealous," Emily taunted Cole as she sat down next to Jay.

"I am not!" Cole snapped at her. Emily raised an eyebrow, her mouth curling up into a mischievous smile.

"You are too," she replied, "you're jealous of a simple maid."

"I am _not_ jealous of you," Cole growled. Emily snorted.

"Sure," she said, unconvinced. "You're not very convincing, Princey."

"_Don't_ call me that!" Cole snarled viciously. His eyes blazed with fury as he glared at the female.

"Princey!" Emily sang. Color flooded Cole's face. Jay scrambled away from Emily, fear printed clearly on his face. Kai couldn't blame him. Zane calmly got up and went over to the base of a tree, sitting back down. Keeping his back pressed flat against the trunk, he closed his disturbingly piercing ice blue eyes, adopting a meditation pose. Kai was still next to the trees. That left the raging prince and the sly maid in the center. As if reading each others minds, they slowly got to their feet, drawing their weapons. Kai gulped, nervous.

"You're scared of me." Emily continued to taunt the furious prince as they began to circle each other. Tension prickled in the air between the two.

"Why would I be scared of _you_, Amelia?" Cole snapped back in reply, rage flooding his voice. Now it was Emily's turn to look furious.

"I never want to hear that name spoken again," Emily said in a dangerously quiet voice. Kai had enough experience with females to know that whenever she said something in that quiet tone of voice, things were going to get very ugly, very fast. He had gotten scratched by three long fingernails whenever his little sister had gone into one of her moods, so now his left eyebrow had a nick in it while two more scratches were underneath his eye.

"Wait," Jay broke in, "you're real name's _Amelia_?"

"That name deals with my past!" Emily rounded on him. There was no mistaking the rage in her stormy blue-gray eyes as she glared at him. Jay shrank back in fear, his deep blue eyes big.

Emily closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

"I'm sorry if I scared you guys," she said in a quiet voice, "but I _never_ want to hear that name spoken again. It deals with my past, and that is something that I do _not_ want to remember." And with that, she disappeared into the closest tent. The flap closed behind her.

Jay, Kai, and Zane all looked at Cole.

"Don't bother trying to get any information out of me," Cole said, "because I've no idea _what_ happened in her past. The only thing that she told me is that her name was actually"-he leaned forward-"Amelia," he continued in a quiet voice, "but that she wanted to be called Emily instead. She didn't say why, exactly, so I've no idea what happened to her for her to want to change her name." Cole leaned back. "She may never say what happened to her before we met."

At that second, Emily reappeared, clad entirely in black. Her shirt, pants, even boots didn't show another color. Her creamy complexion looked pale, like the color of milk, against the dark contrast of her outfit. Her stormy blue-gray eyes were piercing as they swept over the four men.

"It'll take about three more days to get to the Seer," she said, breaking the silence, "at least, as long as we don't get attacked by anything."

"Attacked by what, exactly?" The question forced itself out of Kai's mouth. Emily slowly turned her head to look at him.

"You would be surprised what lives in, under, and above these woods," she replied, "the woods themselves are a threat. But the animals that live here? Horrendous creatures that should only be imagined, but never seen in person, lest you should fall into its deadly trap." Emily's voice became creepy, as if she was telling a ghost story. Kai felt shivers running up his spine. If what Emily was saying was true, then Kai was doomed. _All_ of them were doomed to deaths that were probably more horrifying than all the horror movies that he had seen. And he had a _lot_.

"Anyways, I'll keep watch." Emily changed the subject. "Tomorrow will be busy, I can guarantee that much. But what will happen, that part I can't say." And with that, she started climbing the closest tree.

* * *

**Well, Emily seems to have a temper, doesn't she? I don't blame the guys for being scared. I would be too if _I_ was there. But anyways, yeah.**

**I've got a question concerning Emily: What do you think happened in her past? Tell me in the reviews if you think you've got an answer.  
**

**Have a good day/night, peace, and I shall get started on Chapter 3! Hopefully the wait won't be that long. ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys. I hope your week and Friday were good. First off, sorry about that little bit of a cliffhanger (not! :D), but I kinda had to put it there (actually, no, I didn't; I just wanted to). ;)**

**Thanks for the reviews, guys. And for the reviewers on _Chosen (Part 1)_, you guys get cookies! (::) (::) (::) (::)**

**So, Christmas is coming up soon, but Season 3 is even closer! Who else is excited? I think it's coming out in about 11, 12 days. Unfortunately, I won't be able to watch it because I don't have cable (Dish Network, Direct TV, etc.). So _how_ have I been watching the episodes? Well, I wont' say Netflix, because it took so long for them to put it on there. But, lovely YouTube.  
**

**Anyways, disclaimer: I do not own Ninjago**

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Chapter 3

A bucket of cold water splashed onto him, wrenching him out of a dream and throwing him brutally back into his body. Gasping and spluttering, his eyes flew open to see a grinning Kai, an empty bucket in his hand.

"Was that _really_ necessary?" Jay yelled in anger, shivering violently.

"No," Kai giggled, his almond brown eyes gleaming with amusement. Jay scrambled out of his sleeping bag, grabbing his golden nunchuks. Kai ran out of Jay's tent, laughing hysterically. Jay was half-wondering why he wasn't attracting hyenas.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Jay yelled. He shook his head, water droplets flying from his russet brown hair.

"Good morning to you too, Jay," Emily called to the shivering male. She was stirring something over the fire. The smell rolled over to Jay. He inhaled it deeply, savoring the scent. It smelled like butter, rice, and was lightly laced with molasses. His stomach growled hungrily.

"Wha' happened?" Cole slurred as he poked his head out of his tent. His black eyes were filmy with sleep, and his hair was sticking up at awkward angles. Cole looked at Jay, who was still shivering violently.

"I am g-going t-to k-k -kill K-Kai," Jay managed through his chattering teeth. Emily rolled her eyes, still stirring.

"You can kill him _after_ you change and get warmed up," Emily said, leaving the pot long enough to get a quilt, which she threw to him. Jay caught it and quickly wrapped himself up in it.

Jay ducked into his tent, quickly drying off and changing into blue jeans, a white short-sleeved shirt, and a blue jacket with a white stripe. He pulled on his favorite pair of sneakers: white and blue Nikes. Feeling better, he walked back out.

Jay's lip curled whenever he saw Kai sitting on a fallen log, eating. Emily and Cole were also eating. Zane was no where to be seen.

"Where's Zane?" Jay wondered, crossing over to where the others were.

"Probably still asleep," Emily replied. Just then, Zane exited his tent wearing white jeans, a light gray t-shirt, and a white jacket. His shoes were white, light gray, and sea blue Brooks. His beach blond hair was as perfect as it was the day before. His eyes weren't as piercing, but they were still unsettling.

"How much longer are we going to stay here? I mean, is it still night, or is it day?" Kai asked.

"It's day," Emily said, "although you four wouldn't know how to tell time here. As I said before, these woods are treacherous. You actually have a better chance of getting struck by lightning more than five times than making it out of the Forest of Shadows alone. Alive, I should add," she added after a moment of hesitation. Cole, Zane, Jay, and Kai exchanged startled and shocked looks. Emily must have seen their expressions, because she gave a small laugh. Her eyes glimmered with amusement.

"Your expressions are so priceless," she said, "You guys must not have heard me say _alone_."

"I heard that part." Kai tried to play cool, but failing horribly. Emily rolled her eyes.

"Sure you did," Emily snorted. "_Everyone_ says that. Well, not everyone," she corrected herself whenever Cole, Jay, and Zane looked at her. "Just certain people who think that they know everything." On the last part, she looked at Kai.

A light dusting of color went across the bridge of his nose and underneath his eyes. He smiled a sheepish smile, his shoulders shaking with nervous laughter. He kept his head lowered so that he was looking out from under the three spikes that went across his right eye.

"So, what are we waiting for?" he asked in a tone that matched his laughter. Emily rolled her eyes, rising to her feet.

She went over to the horses, untying the tethers. Storm brushed her nose against Emily's right shoulder, whose hand went up to her horse's cheek, stroking the coarse, gray fur.

"Let's hurry up," Emily said, throwing a different set of reins to each person. She climbed onto Storm. The stormy gray dapple stomped her hooves impatiently, shaking her head and snorting.

Emily wheeled Storm around. With a final glance over her shoulder, Emily spurred her horse.

* * *

"How much father do we have to go?" Jay complained for the twenty-sixth time. Emily gritted her teeth in frustration. He was annoying her down to the tips of her nerves. Maybe, whenever they got to the Seer's, he would have some type of tea that would make Jay loose his voice for a few hours. The silence would give Cole, Zane, Kai, and Emily a break for a while, until Jay recovered his annoyingly ridiculously high-pitched voice.

"Do you see us stopping yet?" she snapped, irritated.

"Can we at least stop so I can take a pit stop?" Jay asked hopefully. Emily sighed, her head dropping forward.

"Fine," she said through clenched teeth. "Make it snappy, though. We've still got about two days worth of traveling yet, and that's going at a gallop. Plus, the west wind is bringing in the smell of rain. We're going to be caught in the middle of the storm, and I at _least_ want to find a decent sized cave to hide in until it blows over."

Jay reined in Thunder before hopping off. He ran a little ways down the way that they had just come before ducking behind a tree; the trunk was so thick that it completely hid Jay from view. Emily rolled her eyes. Storm snorted impatiently, pawing at the ground.

"Can I go too?" Kai broke the growing silence.

"Sure, since we're already stopped," was Emily's grouchy reply. "Actually, we might as well all take a break, while we're waiting for those two."

Emily slid off Storm, her thick-soled black combat boots making contact with the ground just as Cole's feet did. Their eyes met for a brief moment before Emily turned around to face her gray dapple.

Storm nuzzled Emily's hand in greeting. Emily moved her hand to her horse's neck. The fur was warm from sweat and constant movement. Emily rested her forehead next to Storm's jaw joint, breathing in the sweet scent of horses, and, faintly, hay.

"Are we going to eat while we're stopped?" Zane asked in his slight British accent. Emily looked at the remarkably tall male.

"Yeah," she replied. Just then, the wind suddenly blew up hard, drowning her voice. Alarmed, Emily looked up; even though she knew it was impossible to see the sky in the Forest of Shadows. But what alarmed her even more is that she could see sky.

The sky was a deep, poisonous purple, so dark that it was almost midnight blue. The storm had arrived. And this was no ordinary thunderstorm.

"What's going on?" Cole demanded. Emily's reply was drowned in the heavy wind and deafening thunder.

"I'll explain everything later, but right now, we need to leave!" Emily shouted over the roar of the wind. Big, fat raindrops suddenly began to fall, pelting the earth. Lightning raked the sky into stripes, looking like deep gouges that split the black heavens into swathes of fabric. The thunder that followed each blinding yellow-white bolt of pure electricity shook the ground.

Everyone scrambled onto their panicking horses. The five horses whinnied with panic, rearing up and boxing at the air with their front hooves. The dirt at their hooves quickly became mud as the rain slowly grew more forceful.

Emily spurred Storm, and the mare took off at a full gallop.

"Whatever happens next, don't be afraid!" Emily shouted as loudly as she could over the roaring thunder, the hard wind that made their new cloaks flap wildly, and the hard, pounding rain.

"What are you saying?" Kai shouted back to her.

"You'll see!" Emily inserted her right thumb and middle finger into her mouth. Inhaling deeply, she whistled.

The sound that emerged was sharp, high-pitched sounding. Yet at the same time, it was as gentle as a well-groomed cat's fur. Her whistle rang around to the farthest corners of the world. And it was to summon one thing: the creature that was imaged on her back.

* * *

**Whoa, WHOA! Is that epic or _what_? I know it was rather short, but the next chapter will be longer.**

**Did I do good on the adjectives, or did I go overboard? I have a tendency of going overboard with the adjectives, but hey. I like being descriptive, okay? **

**Aside from that, I've got nothing else to say, except for:**

**1) Peace**

**2) Have a good weekend**

**3) Have a good day/night**

**4) Review**

**5) *optional* Follow/Fav**


	4. Chapter 4

**Happy Monday, everyone! The new season is coming out in 9 days! In other words, the 18th.  
**

**Okay, so we left off with Emily summoning her dragon. And yes, NinjagoLuver32, she can do that. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ninjago**

* * *

Chapter 4

Hundreds of miles away from the Forest of Shadows lay a cave, carved deeply into the side of the Mountain of Impossible Heights. In it, fast asleep, were five dragons.

The first was black and brown, the bulkiest of them. Protecting its neck was a frill made of sturdy ebony. Its wings, pulled up tightly against its thick body, were made of thin tan skin, holes peppering the paper-thin membrane. Protecting its elbows were brown spikes. Its eyes were closed tightly, but when they were open, they were glowing turquoises.

Another was pure white in color. Ice blue spikes lined the elbows of the wings, which were also covered in a thin membrane. This dragon's body build was somewhere between sleek and bulky. Its eyes were the color of liquid carbon dioxide.

The third was a fiery red dragon, with an orange frill protecting the back of its head, and orange elbow spikes. Its wings were too covered by a thin, red membrane. Its body build was a little more slender than the white dragon, but it was still heavily muscled. Living embers were the color of the eyes.

The fourth was dark blue. The fastest of them all, this dragon was sleek and slenderer than the others. Lighter blue spikes lined the elbows of its membrane-covered wings. When they were open, its eyes were the color of blue electricity.

The last dragon was much smaller, sleeker, and slenderer than the other four. And, this particular dragon was the only female dragon. Her scales were a dark, thunderstorm gray. Black spikes ran across the elbows of her wings, which were covered in a light gray membrane. A black frill covered the back of her neck, shielding it from anything that might hurt the vulnerable area. Her eyes were an interesting color: a bold, lantern yellow. Unlike the other four dragons, the fifth dragon was already awakened.

A sharp, clear, high-pitched whistle reached the she-dragon's keen ears. She knew what it meant: she was being summoned.

She stood up and circled around, her long, spiked tail sweeping over the heads of the four other dragons, all of who were curled up into tight balls as they slept, awaiting their first summoning. She cautiously opened her wings, thin, watery light filtering through the thin membranes.

Flapping them up and down, the gray she-dragon's heavily-clawed feet left the rocky ground. She soared over the four sleeping dragons, making her way to the entrance.

Once outside, she landed long enough to collect her summoner's bearings. Flapping her wings once again, she took off to the northwest: the Forest of Shadows.

* * *

A loud roar reached Emily's ears. Pain, which had been prickling her back, suddenly exploded into a fiery, sudden burst of agony. She bit her tongue to muffle a screech.

"Come on!" She yanked hard on the reins to the right. Barely audible over the noise of the wind, thunder, and rain were thundering hooves. A little drop of relief landed in the pits of her stomach.

Emily led the way deeper into the forest. After a matter of minutes, the five broke out of the Forest of Shadows. If the sky wouldn't have been stormy, then they would have been blinded by sudden sunlight. Instead, the sky was still stormy. And about twenty meters away, was a sudden cliff.

"EMILY!" Cole screamed at her.

"Trust me!" she screeched in reply. And without slowing down, Emily vaulted right over the edge, her body pressed down hard against Storm's.

Jay, Kai, Zane, and Cole let out startled screeches as they too went over the side.

The five fell through the air. The ground was quickly speeding towards them, but Emily had faith in her plan.

And then, out of nowhere, appeared a magnificent, dark gray dragon.

Cole let out a scream of pure terror whenever he saw it, but Emily crowed in victory.

She let go of Storm's reins, and the dragon immediately flew underneath Emily, catching her. Storm fell right into one of the dragon's enormous paws. Grinning like a mad person, Emily maneuvered her dragon so that she caught the four terrified men, their horses also falling into the paw.

Cole wrapped both arms around Emily's waist, burying his face in between her shoulder blades. Emily winced from pain, but it was quickly gone. She threw a quick glance over her shoulder.

Cole was clinging tightly to her, as if she would disappear; Jay had one arm clamped around Cole's waist. Sitting right behind Jay was the milk chocolate brown spiky-headed Kai. Zane was the last one. Emily turned back around, only to pull hard on her dragon's reins in shock. Kai let out a breathless 'Oof!'

"They wouldn't dare," Emily breathed as her eyes darted back and forth, surveying the massing army of winged creatures.

They were all the same, although there were easily thousands of them: slimy black skin; silvery spikes emerging on their backs and covering the entire length of their tail; four paws, each sporting four claws with a fifth going halfway up the front two paws. Their eyes were small and beady, yet the most curious color: soft emerald green. And they were _everywhere_. Emily, Cole, Zane, Jay, Kai, and the dragon were surrounded.

Emily considered the odds of them coming out of this without a scratch. She figured that there was about less than three percent of that ever happening. But she also didn't like the escape options. Since they were surrounded in a big circle wrapping around them left to right, it would be suicide to attempt escape through the thick, slimy, black winged wall. But they would also be severely damaged if they headed straight down for land. Then again, they could always fly straight up into the heart of the severe thunderstorm. After considering possible attempts for suicide, extreme, severe damage, or trying to escape through dangerous storm clouds, Emily went for option three.

"Guys, don't freak out," she said in a slow voice as she started to slowly pull on the dragon's reins.

"Don't kill us," Jay managed in an even-higher-than-normal high-pitched, squeaky voice.

"I'm not," Emily replied in a low voice with a malicious grin on her face. "We're getting out of here _unscathed_."

"Emily," Kai began, "we're surrounded. How on earth are we going to…?" He broke off into a scream of pure terror as Emily's dragon shot straight upwards like a bullet. Emily's thighs clamped down hard onto the dragon's flanks.

With the storm clouds hanging only a few meters away, they broke through the first layer within seconds.

Lightning raged around them while the rain was harder than before. The cold water drops came in contact with Emily's eyes, but she forced herself not to let go of the reins. She blinked furiously as she maneuvered the gray dragon around bolts of blinding, pure electricity that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand straight up. The thunder that quickly followed almost made her go deaf.

"Down, Hail!" Emily shouted the order over the crashing thunder. Hail immediately pulled her wings in tight against her body, falling into a nosedive.

Emily pressed herself hard against Hail's back. A hard, determined and victorious glint gleamed in Emily's eyes. Behind her, she could hear four screams of pure terror, but she didn't give a single thought about it.

They continued to fall straight down, heading straight for the earth.

"We're going to die! We are _so_ going to die!" Jay repeatedly screeched.

"Mommy!" Kai wailed. Emily glanced over her shoulder.

Cole looked like a kitten that had been dropped into a tub of water for the first time; Jay's eyes were huge and his mouth was wide open, screaming; Kai's expression was exactly like Jay's, also screaming; and Zane looked shocked and scared at the same time. Emily resisted a laugh, but only barely.

Hail suddenly snapped out her wings before flapping them once, propelling herself and her riders forward. She suddenly rolled sideways, drawing her wings in tight against her body again as she avoided a massive spurt of fire. Emily gritted her teeth in frustration, air hissing like a balloon being deflated. This was _not_ what she had in mind for the day.

"Come on," Emily hissed through tightly clenched teeth. She urged Hail to go faster, but the young she-dragon was exhausted. She had already flown more than four hundred miles to get to her summoner, and now she was on defense, trying to protect the Five.

Hail suddenly sent into a nosedive. After going straight down for more than fifteen miles, she began to spin violently. A gray, sharp-tipped cone appeared, along with a swirling purple vortex. Emily's blood turned to acid as Hail and her riders was engulfed in the deep purple void. Things were going to get even more exciting.

* * *

Jay tightened his grip on Cole's abdomen as they began to spin in a violent three-sixty. A scream forced its way out of his mouth as they hit the ground. But instead of smashing into the hard surface, they passed through a swirling, deep purple vortex.

"Where are we?" Kai whimpered.

"The entrance to the Underworld." Emily's quiet reply could barely be heard over the sound of rushing wind. "Things will get interesting, so hang on!"

_Do you honestly think that I'm going to let go?_ Jay thought dryly. Emily shouted something to her dragon, and Hail took off.

Jay could feel Kai's hammering heart through the material of their tee shirts, as well as hearing his labored breathing.

After weaving in and out of glowing, lavender-colored stalagmites, Jay could see now why Emily had said that things would be getting interesting.

Sticking close to the top of cavern, Hail flew above slate platforms, each easily one hundred feet in diameter. Bridges made out of human bones connected each plateau. Milling on the tops of them were twenty skeletons. But what was more disturbing was the fact that a long ways down, Jay could see tiny flecks, if he squinted hard enough. Faint, echoing cries of pain reached his ears. Jay shuddered. They truly were in the Underworld.

"If they look up, we're dead," Kai whispered in Jay's ear.

"But since we're already in the Underworld, at least we won't have far to go," Jay answered jokingly. Kai grinned, puffs of air hissing through his nose and mouth as he struggled to keep a laugh in.

"Shh!" Emily quietly hissed, turning her head so that she looked over her shoulder. "We're near the Dark Lord's dwelling place. He can sense us as easily as we can sense sunlight on the surface world."

"Then why did you bring us down here?" Zane asked in a quiet voice.

"If used right, the Underworld can be used as a sort of doorway," Emily answered, facing forward again. She leaned down, snapped Hail's reins, and the she-dragon flew into another portal.

"I'm sick of portals," Jay said, looking faintly green.

"Trust me, this won't be the last," Emily replied darkly. They sailed out of the portal and back into the sky. Sixty miles away, there was only the faintest streak of clouds in the sky. Other than that, it was a deep blue, as blue as Jay's eyes. A quarter of a mile away, docked on the side of the sea, was a ship with a dragon masthead on the front of it.

"Whoa, whoa, _whoa_!" Kai exclaimed in amazement, his arm slacking around Jay's waist. The tension in Jay's shoulders and arms released so much and so suddenly that he slumped against Cole's back.

"Welcome to the Seer's," Emily said proudly. And standing on the deck in simple white robes, a long, pure white beard swaying in the gentle summer breeze, a rice plant hat on his head, his black onyx-colored eyes gleaming in the sun with a bamboo staff in his right hand, was the Seer himself.

* * *

**Did I do a good job on describing the dragons? Believe it or not, it's hard trying to find an image of the Elemental Dragons from the episodes, and not the kits. And frankly, I didn't feel like watching the episodes (which is actually probably a first on my account).**

**I'm still trying to come up with a good name for those winged things. I'm open to any suggestions that you guys might have.**

**I've also got a poll on my profile, so check that out.**

**Have a good day/night, have a good week, and peace.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Happy Tuesday! Hope life's treating you well. **

**Okay, so I ended Chapter 4 with the description of the Seer (any guesses on who he might be?). And MasterDerp5885 asked a very good question concerning the fact on how Emily knew about summoning the dragon. I will honestly admit that I did not even think about that (thank you, MasterDerp5885, for pointing that out), so I hope that the explanation clears it up.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ninjago**

* * *

Chapter 5

Zane slid off the back, sliding down the glossy, dark gray scales. He was still in shock of what happened. Turning his head, he could see that the others were also shocked.

Cole looked sick to his stomach. He was rocking back and forth on his feet, both arms wrapped around the middle of his torso. His face had a green-tint to it.

Jay was standing still, looking like a fool; Kai was looking at Hail nervously; and Zane felt like he had been on the wildest roller coaster ride he had ever been on. That was actually saying a lot, considering the fact that he has never been on one before. The only one who didn't seem affected by the wild ride was Emily.

"You are early," the Seer told the five young people. He turned to Emily. "You shouldn't have summoned Hail. You know better." Emily took a step forward; her head tilted two degrees to the right.

"I had no choice _but_ to," she said, defending her actions, "the wolf drakons were coming. Even if we had five fastest horses in all of Ninjago, they wouldn't have been fast enough to outdistance them."

"Is that why you used the Underworld as an escape?" the Seer retorted dryly. Emily flinched.

"We were surrounded," she snapped, her voice as cold and as brittle as thin ice. "We were forced to use the Underworld. Besides, no one spotted us," she added. The Seer glared at her, but she met his gaze evenly.

Cole moaned before flinging himself to the port side of the deck. He leaned over the edge and emptied his stomach onto the ground below. Whenever he turned back around, he was as white as a sheet. Everyone looked at him.

"I'm okay," he spluttered. He turned back around and once more leaned over the edge.

"Are you finished now?" Emily inquired the pale prince. He nodded, swallowing.

"I can't believe I'm going to say this," Jay said, "but I'm hungry. What's there to eat?" Everyone turned their attention from Cole to Jay.

"You just went through the heart of the fiercest storm, rode on a dragon that was weaving in and out of those _things_, experienced the Underworld for the first time, and you're _hungry_?" Kai summed up the past thirty minutes, topping it with a question. Jay nodded furiously, russet-colored strands flying. Something caught Zane's eye. He turned his head to look at what had captured his attention.

"Emily," he said, "I think we may have some company." Emily turned her head.

She hissed something under her breath as she ran inside down the hallway. Cole took off after her. After a second of hesitation, Zane, Jay, and Kai took after them.

Emily was running all over a room that contained large, multicolored buttons, pressing them so rapidly that it made Zane slightly dizzy just watching her. She finally slammed her fist onto a big, red button. Zane hoped that it wasn't the self-destruct button.

"They're gaining on us!" Kai said, alarmed. Just then, the ship tilted at a dangerous angle towards port. There was a massive shudder, and then the ship began to _rise_ into the air. Zane skidded into a table, his fingernails digging into the wooden surface. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kai and Jay tumbling head over heels while Cole was being thrown around brutally. Meanwhile, Emily was jerking the wheel violently. Her eyes were narrowed, her eyebrows knitted together in fierce concentration.

This continued on for about five more minutes, in which Cole looked seasick, or rather, airsick. Zane's fingers were splinter cushions by the time Emily finally stopped. She turned around, cracking her knuckles.

"All's good," she announced. Jay stood up on his feet before pulling Kai up. The two looked pale and shaken. Over to Zane's left, the black-haired prince massaged both temples with his pointer fingers, his black eyes narrowed.

"This is the most stressful day of my life," he said, continuing to work his fingers in slow, circular motions.

"Trust me, things will be a whole lot more stressful than this," Emily promised darkly. Cole looked at her, interest glinting in his eyes.

"Tell me this," he began, "how did you know about the dragon?" Emily turned and looked at him.

"_Now_ you decide to ask me that question?" she asked, her voice hard. A light dusting of color flooded Cole's face in embarrassment. At first, Zane wasn't sure if Emily was joking, until a small smile curved the corners of her mouth.

"Okay, I don't know where to start with that question," she admitted, "but I guess it starts whenever I accidentally found the cave." She looked at the Seer, as if asking permission. He nodded, and Emily continued on.

"The dragons' lair is located on the Mountain of Impossible Heights," she began, "on the eastern side. Why? Because legend has it that the first dragon was born from the sun whenever it rose for the first time. They called him the Golden Dragon, because his scales were the color of molten gold. But it is lonely whenever you are the only one of your kind, so he created a female using the four elements: earth, ice, fire, and lightning. The female's body was made of earth, while her wings were made of lightning. Her feet and claws were crafted out of ice. And her blood was fire. The Golden Dragon named her the Elemental dragon, and the two mated, producing five eggs. Soon the time came for the eggs to hatch. The first one to break out of its shell was a black-and-brown one. The second was snow white, the third deep sky blue. The fourth egg was a fiery red color. All were males."

"But what does this have to do with our dragons?" Jay demanded impatiently. Emily scowled at him.

"I'm getting there," she replied irritably, "anyways, the fifth dragon was the smallest one, and the only female of the clutch. Her scales were thunderstorm gray. After a matter of time, the Golden Dragon and the Elemental Dragon were concerned for their daughter, because while her brothers wrestled and grew quite rapidly, she remained much smaller than the others. Anyways, skip ahead about one point two million years. By this time, there is a major prophecy, and four weapons crafted out a solid gold. The four Elemental Brothers and their sister are protecting the Golden Weapons, while at the same time; they are curled up asleep in their old cave, waiting to be summoned. The Golden Dragon and Elemental Dragon are gone, having been summoned to the heavens, where they now watch over all of Ninjago."

"Can you just tell us about the prophecy?" Kai asked hopefully. Emily closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. She exhaled slowly, opening her eyes.

"I'm getting there," she said through clenched teeth, "the dragons and the prophecy are so intertwined that to take one away, you won't be able to understand the other. Now, continuing on, and this is how I found out about the dragons. I was climbing the Mountain of Impossible Heights just to pass the time, whenever I came across the cave. I was shocked to see the five dragons, because I thought that it was just a legend that made for very good reading. Each dragon had a Golden Weapon clasped tightly in its front paws, except for the smallest one. As I made my way over to the sister, my back suddenly began to prickle with pain, but I dismissed it. It wasn't until that I had knelt down and gently placed my hand on the sister's forehead when my back suddenly exploded into a fiery pain, which I'm sure you guys know about," Emily added hastily. Cole, Zane, Jay, and Kai all nodded their heads.

"But not only did I receive a tattoo on my back, the colors gray outlined in gold, but I also received four more marks. A black-brown mountain range on my right shoulder blade, a blazing fire on my left shoulder blade, a jagged bolt of blue lightning a little ways above my waist on my back in the lower right hand corner just above the dragon's tail, and pure white icicles directly across the lightning on the opposite side."

The four males gave each other shocked expressions. Just how many tattoos did Emily have?

"Anyways, the next part is confusing, so I'm just going to skip it and tell you that your tattoo is the connection that binds you and your dragon. Of course, after you summon your dragon for the first time, you have to convince it that they made the right choice in selecting you. And right now, your tattoo has only the basic outline of a dragon. Why is that? Because in order to have a fully completed dragon tattoo, you have to complete a series of steps in order to achieve it."

"Can I say something?" Zane said politely. Emily nodded at him, and Zane asked, "I have never asked anyone this, but may we please see your tattoo?" His voice cracked with awkwardness. He was quite surprised whenever Emily spun around on her heel so that her back faced Cole, Jay, Kai, and Zane's direction.

"As long as _someone_ doesn't start to have an abnormal amount of saliva dripping out of the corner of their mouth," was all she said as she pulled her shirt off. Cole's face turned a vibrant red while heat rushed into Zane's cheeks, as he was not accustomed to seeing a woman's back, but he was taken back by the images that were printed onto Emily's.

Just like his own, Emily's dragon tattoo had the same basic shape: the head up and the mouth in a silent roar; the wings in flight position; the tail making the three loops down to the top of the right hip. But unlike his, Emily's tattoo had scales, and spikes on the elbows of the dragon's wings. On the head, there was a single dot-the eye. Surrounding her tattoo were the four images that she had described: a mountain range; icicles; a blazing fire; and a jagged bolt of lightning. Kai gave a low whistle.

"Good grief, Emily," he said. Emily pulled her shirt back on before turning back around.

"I know," she agreed with him.

"What about the summoning whistle?" Cole asked.

"I've honestly no idea _how_ I came up with that, but it just seemed right," Emily admitted, "but I figured that it would seem right to have something that was able to summon your dragon, since you can't just yell for them."

"Seems legit. Anyways, is that all, or is there more to the dragons?" Jay questioned. Emily acknowledged his words with a glance.

"There's more to it, but that's for later," she said. "Besides, I'm trying to explain to you in a single afternoon what took months for it to finally make sense to me. Trust me," she added, "if I go into any more detail, you will get a headache." Zane mentally agreed, as his own head was starting to throb dully.

There was silence for a few minutes, until Zane cleared his throat.

"So," he began, "what is for lunch?"

* * *

Cole still felt queasy from the wild dragon ride that he had experienced about twenty minutes ago. The last thing he wanted to do was eat, especially after he had emptied his stomach of all contents over the side of the deck. His mouth still tasted foul from the acid. But the bowl of ramen noodles and chicken broth that Emily had made for a quick lunch had calmed his upset stomach and rinsed the bad taste off his tongue (for the most part).

After lunch, Emily took them on a quick tour of what she called the _Destiny's Bounty_.

"This is the engine room," she announced, pushing a door open. Kai gasped as he gawked at the jungle gym of pipes, boilers, and other mechanical stuff. He darted past Emily and skidded to a halt next to the closest boiler. He looked at it, his mouth sagging open in excitement. Emily's right palm met her forehead as she slowly shook her head.

"You guys finish the tour," Kai said distractedly as he moved from one part of the engine room to another, examining each piece of complicated equipment.

"Have fun trying to find the bathroom, then," Emily said as she turned around and started walking down another hallway. Kai gave the room a sad look before rushing out after Emily. Realizing that he was going to run into her, he tried to stop, but ended up tripping over his feet, stumbling into her. Startled, Emily face-planted into the hardwood flooring, Kai sprawled out on top of her.

"Get _off_ me!" Emily snarled viciously. Kai scrambled to his feet. Emily rolled onto her back before hopping to her feet without the use of her hands. She threw him a dirty look. Cole shook his head, mentally face-palming.

Kai looked slightly scared as Emily stormed down the hallway, walking past a series of open doors. She led them back onto the deck, where her gray dragon, Hail, was.

Hail looked at Emily, her bold, lantern yellow eyes shining. Hail tilted her head as if in a question, and Emily held hers straight. After a while, Hail nodded once before flapping her wings. She roared once, and then flew back to the north where her four brothers continued to sleep.

"Dragons have their own way of communication," Emily explained before anyone could open their mouths. "You can only communicate with the dragon that has Marked you, but sometimes another dragon will tell you something." Cole was confused. How could a dragon communicate when they couldn't even talk?

"Dragons can't talk directly," Emily said, voicing Cole's thoughts. "But they can communicate with you telepathically."

"Wait," Jay intervened, "does that mean that they can talk to you in your mind?"

"Precisely that, Jay. And no matter where you are, you can communicate with your dragon, although there are some restrictions. But as I said whenever I was telling you about the origins of dragons, if I was to tell you everything that I knew about dragons, you would be having a whopper headache," Emily said.

_Seems legit,_ Cole thought. He already had a headache from the day's events, and right now, the one thing he wanted to do most was spend some time with Night.

"Wait, where are the horses?" Kai echoed Cole's thoughts. Cole sighed, rolling his eyes up to the sky. Was everyone here mind readers? Emily smiled.

"Hail's taking them back home, and then she's going to go back to the Mountain of Impossible Heights," Emily replied.

"Okay," Cole said, feeling a little queasy. His stomach had just turned itself back into knots. If he was so scared of dragons, then what would the dragon that had claimed him do?

* * *

**Question time!**

**1) Did I do good on the history of the dragons? **

**2) Do you think I went overboard with Emily's tattoos? (In other words, did I do too many?)**

**3) Is this getting boring?**

**4) Why do I ask so many questions? (You don't have to answer that one *epic face*)**

**Tomorrow is the day, Ninjago fans! Season 3, Episode 1 'The Surge' (that is the actual title) comes out! Yay!  
**

**...**

**Okay, until next time, remember to review, fav/follow, have a good day/night, peace, have a good rest of the week, and have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.**

**(P.S.-I've got a poll on my profile, so go check it out. I'm probably going to close it whenever I end my other work-in-progress fanfic _Zane's Fate_. Not yet decided. If you haven't already, go read _Zane's Fate._ You might like it.)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Happy 2014, guys! I would have finished this chapter earlier, but you've got homework, band and orchestra practice, chores, school, and having slipping on a patch of ice and bruising my tail bone to blame it on. And the occasional writer's block, but surprisingly, it wasn't bad...for once. And also my other story _Zane's Fate_. Sorry, but that one has been taking all of my attention, but for now, my attention will be on _Chosen (Part 2)._  
**

**Anyways, so, some of you have probably been wondering about Lloyd. Well, he's still back at the castle doing those assignments that Emily gave him before she and the others left, so he isn't up to any mischief (which is probably a first). ;)  
**

**So, yeah. Hope you guys had a good Christmas, and this is my (kinda late) belated Christmas gift to ya.  
**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, it means a lot.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ninjago**

* * *

Chapter 6

Kai spent the night wrestling with the boilers, engines, rocket boosters, and more.

He had brought his tool belt along for reasons he didn't know why, but after seeing the engine room on the tour, he knew _exactly_ what he was going to do in his free time.

After pulling out a wrench, he reached up towards the ceiling, stretching. After shaking his muscles loose, he tackled the first boiler.

After checking to make sure that the boiler wasn't critical and that the valves were off, he began to dismantle it.

He wiped the grime off, cleaning it and oiling it well before he put it back together. It felt _great_ to get his hands back onto machines. He missed the feeling of the different metal parts, but now, he felt energized and awake, as if the machines were transferring their electricity to him.

After cleaning the other two boilers, he moved onto the engine. Kai knew that they were anchored in the ocean, so the only thing he had to worry about was misplacing a piece and loosing it. Emily and the Seer would _not_ be pleased.

After taking the cover off and exposing the combustion chamber, Kai realized that the engine had been made exclusively. It looked more puzzling than the Labyrinth that held the Minotaur prisoner in Greek mythology. But fortunately for the young mechanic, he found the blueprint for it. Studying it closely, he was pleased to see familiar elements, but there were some complex things as well.

Referring to the blueprint of the engine, Kai dismantled the entire thing. He examined each part, tweaking smaller items with his pair of long-nosed pliers, while measuring the diameter and radius to come up with the circumference of a few nuts, which he wrote on the small pad of paper that he always kept in the back pocket on his tool belt for notes and future reference. Once he had cleaned, oiled, and dusted all the pieces, he put the mechanical puzzle back together.

Looking at his watch, he was surprised to see that the time was 12:04 in the morning. He had been in the engine room for nearly three hours and forty-eight minutes. A sudden wave of exhaustion rolled over Kai, almost causing him to drop his wrench.

He sank to his knees, putting the tool that was in his left hand away before leaning backwards so that a boiler was supporting him. His eyelids started to droop, heavy with tiredness. The day's events finally seeped in, just as the soft, silvery rays of the half-moon shone in through a window, bathing everything in a gentle glow. Kai had just enough energy left to appreciate the beauty of the pure black sky that was sprinkled with grains of sugar. Back in Ninjago City, there were only a few stars visible, but here, drifting on an ocean, the stars were countless. The lull of the waves that were gently lapping at the wooden hull of the _Bounty_ sounded like whispering.

_Sleep, sleep,_ the waves urged him.

_But I don't want to,_ Kai protested.

_Sleep, sleep_. The waves were persistent, and a soft, summer night's breeze blew up, adding to the soft lull of nature. Kai eventually gave in, and before he knew it, was slipping into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

The sweet smell of pancakes, honey sausage, and freshly baked bread tickled Jay's nose, pulling him out of his sleep. Blinking open his eyes, he pushed back his sheets. Swinging his legs out of bed, he lowered himself slowly to the ground. The hardwood flooring felt slightly cold against the bottoms of his bare feet, but he ignored it. After tiptoeing his way across the room, he opened the door and slid into the hallway. Trusting his sense of smell to guide him, Jay followed the heavenly scent to the kitchen. No surprise, there was Emily, dressed in well-worn jeans, a simple light gray shallow v-neck t-shirt, and a dark gray-and-black bandanna tied around her forehead, holding back the loose strands that had made their way free from her untamed braid.

"Just to warn you, today's the first day of training, so now's your chance to go back to bed and catch a few more Zs," Emily said without even turning her head to look at him.

"I'm good," Jay replied, just as his stomach erupted into a ferocious growling. He cringed as Emily looked over her shoulder, amusement glimmering in her stormy blue-gray eyes.

"I assume you're hungry," she said before tossing him a warm, lightly buttered roll. Jay caught it, and the delicious smell made his mouth start watering like crazy. Jay bit into the roll. The butter was lightly laced with cinnamon, and the bread itself just seemed to melt in his mouth. The flavors sang on his tongue as he savored each warm, delicious bite.

"This is good," Jay said, only it came out like this: "Mifs is goo." Emily smiled before taking a roll for herself.

"A classic recipe," she told the hungry Jay, "I actually made it myself, although it took a few tries to get it just right." Jay swallowed the last bite of roll and began to lick the buttery crumbs that were attached to the pads of his fingers off.

"What else is there?" Jay asked hopefully.

"Pancakes, honey sausage, cinnamon knots, and rolls," Emily replied. Jay's stomach let out a demanding growl at her words.

"Hey, where's Kai?" someone asked from behind Jay, causing him to jump. He whirled around, only to see Cole padding forwards on silent feet. Emily shrugged before tossing the newcomer a cinnamon-buttered roll. He caught easily, tearing into it.

Cole ran the hand that didn't have a buttery bun in it through his unruly hair, although it just made it look even messier. He opened his mouth to say something else, but a loud yawn forced the prince to close his mouth again.

"What happened to _you_?" Jay asked the tired-looking Kai.

His red shirt was splattered with oil and grease, ripped in some areas, so it revealed the shallowest indentations of abs. His faded jeans had holes in the knees, and the hems were tearing, fraying threads of string dragging on the floor. There was a streak of grime and dirt going down one cheek, so it looked like Kai had lost a wrestling match with a locomotive. Strapped onto his waist and sliding at an angel was a faded brown tool belt, the pockets bulging with pliers, screws, nuts, bolts, and other mechanical knick-knacks. Tucked into his right back pocket was a folded rag that was speckled with grease, oil, grime, and suspicious, faint red-orange flecks. Despite his tired appearance, his almond brown eyes with red-orange flecks were bright with excitement.

"I spent the night with the boilers," was his reply. Cole, Emily, and Jay exchanged looks. After a matter of minutes, Emily cleared her throat.

"After last night's ordeal in the engine room, I suspect you have quite an appetite this morning, don't you?" she asked with two flirtatious bounces of her eyebrows and her mouth curving up into a charming smile. Kai stared at her, his scarred eyebrow sliding up his forehead, where it vanished underneath his unruly milk chocolate brown spikes. Next to Jay, Cole's palm met his forehead while muttering some unflattering things about Emily.

"You do know I'm teasing you, right?" Emily inquired the young mechanic after a few moments of awkward silence.

"Yeah?" Kai replied slowly, the tone of his voice laced lightly with uncertainty as his eyes flickered left and right.

"I'm sorry, but I like getting reactions out of rather good-looking boys," Emily explained. He continued to stare at her as color slowly flooded his face in embarrassment.

"No kidding," Cole snapped hotly at her. She returned his sudden outburst with a dirty scowl on her face. The two glared at each, neither looking like they were going to back down first. Emily's hands curled into tight fists, her knuckles turning white, while Cole narrowed his eyes. After ten more seconds, Cole was forced to look away, blinking rapidly. With a slightly smug look on her face, Emily casually tossed the pancakes and sausage onto plates before skillfully placing the two plates on her forearms while she grabbed the pans containing the rolls and cinnamon knots. Kai and Jay stepped backwards so that she could pass them.

"She likes showing off, doesn't she?" Kai asked Cole. Cole nodded.

"Give her the chance, she'll show-off about everything," he grumbled.

"Hey, I don't show-off about playing video games," Emily snapped from the dining room.

"That's because you think that they're a waste of time, dumb, and stupid," Cole retorted irritably. Kai and Jay stared at him, their mouths and eyes wide with shock.

"That is so utterly true." Emily poked her head around the corner to give Cole a quick glare.

"Wait, so are you saying that you don't play video games?" Kai asked her. She nodded.

"I don't have the time _to_ sit down and play video games," Emily admitted honestly, "because I'm running around either chasing after Lloyd just to tell him to go outside, doing housework, or getting into the occasional argument with Cole. And let me tell you this: those arguments can get _pretty_ violent."

"What do you disagree over?" A slightly British-accented voice asked from behind Jay, who didn't flinch this time.

"The usual sibling rivalry topics," Emily replied coolly, "that's it. You guys don't believe me, do you?" she added. Zane, Jay, and Kai shook their heads. "Go fig. No one ever believes me," Emily grumbled, disappearing back into the dining room. Out of the corner of Jay's eye, he saw Cole's pinched face of annoyance before he disappeared into the dining room.

"What is up with those two?" Kai asked, cocking his head to the right, his almond brown eyes brimming with confusion. Jay and Zane shrugged before following the annoyed prince.

* * *

Zane had to admit to himself that Emily's cooking was extraordinarily good. She clearly had a talent for cooking, like himself.

After breakfast, he offered to stay and help with the dishes, but Emily shooed him away, telling him that he was needed on the deck with the others.

"Besides," she assured him, "I've done _way_ more dishes than this by myself."

_If you say so,_ Zane thought as he started for the deck. Just as Emily said, Cole, Jay, and Kai were already there, along with the Seer.

"Good," the Seer said, "you're all here." He stroked his long, white beard.

Kai yawned as if tired, but Zane knew that he was just bored, despite him sleeping with the boilers last night, which was probably not all that comfortable.

"Why are we even here?" Jay complained. "It's Saturday. We should be sleeping in, playing video games, and eating cold, leftover pizza and drinking a soda with it."

"Training comes first before everything." Emily's sudden appearance made the four men jump. "Sensei, can I go get their new uniforms?"

Zane was highly confused. Emily had said that this was the Seer, but then she turned around and called him _Sensei_? And what did she mean by uniforms?

"Hold it," Jay broke in, "Emily, I'm confuzzled."

"Of course you are," Emily scoffed, "you're _always_ confuzzled. You get uniforms, and training begins today. So, why should you be confused? Seems pretty obvious to me."

"That's because you're Emily," Jay complained. Emily rolled her eyes before dashing down the hallway, her braid flying out from behind her. Cole sighed, shaking his head slowly, his eyes closed.

"Ignore her when she gets sarcastic," he advised Jay, "but the trouble is, she is so good at covering up her sarcasm that it's practically impossible to tell if she's serious or not."

Emily reappeared, and in her hands were four packages. They were each wrapped in different colors: black, white, blue, and red. Zane automatically assumed that they were the uniforms.

"Ninety percent cotton, ten percent spandex to allow movement," Emily said, handing Zane the white one, Kai the red one, Jay the blue one, and Cole the black one. Looking at each other, the four unwrapped their packages.

Zane pulled out a white, long-sleeved shirt with matching white pants. A pair of black gloves made of thick leather automatically told him that they were going to protect his hands from cold and from minor cuts.

"Uh, Emily," Kai said, looking at his uniform, "why am I red?"

"Because it matches the main color of your dragon tattoo," she replied.

"I never truly got that concept about the colors of our dragon tattoos," Jay put in. "and why did you call the Seer _Sensei_?"

"As I said yesterday," Emily started to answer, sighing, "it would take a while to explain everything about our tattoos and dragons, and actually, the first one, that's a name I came up with. Another long explanation," she added, holding a hand up, "which I will tell you in a few weeks or so, once we start training. Speaking of training, do you _really_ expect to be training in jeans and t-shirts?"

Zane looked at the neatly folded clothing articles. After looking closely at the light gray undershirt and the white long-sleeved shirt, he had a hunch that whenever Emily had taken the measurements for their new cloaks, she had also been taking measurements for their uniforms.

"Are we supposed to choke someone with this?" Cole asked, skeptical, picking up the slate gray sash and eyeing it. Emily and the Seer…no, _Sensei_, Zane corrected himself, exchanged looks that read _Really?_

"Uh, no, Cole," Emily replied, "you tie it around you waist to keep your pants in place, because I can guarantee you, you will not want your undershorts showing when you're training, let alone fighting. If that _does_ happen, then you don't need to fear dying from wounds and poison. Instead, you would then need to worry about dying from humiliation. Questions, or are you good, now that I've explained the reason for a sash?"

"I, uh, think I'm good for now." Emily snorted.

"_For now_ isn't exactly reassuring," she retorted, "just keep that in mind, okay? Now, why don't the four of you go try on your uniforms? I can make a few changes if I have to, but they should be a little on the snug side."

Zane was the first one down the hall and into the room that Emily had talked him and the three other males into sharing, claiming that there wasn't enough space on board the _Bounty_ for them each to have their own room.

A few minutes later, Zane was back on the deck in his new outfit. He liked it, as it fit him perfectly. He also noticed that there were two brown rope-like patterns tediously stitched onto his shirt, one crossing over his left shoulder, and the other going around his waist. They were connected by an emblem that he could not identify, but he figured that it had something important that dealt with his Golden Shurikens. The black gloves fit perfectly, and the knee-high mud brown combat boots that Emily had setting out on the weathered planks on the deck. He had just finished tying his right boot whenever Jay emerged, followed by Kai.

Jay's outfit was a deep sky blue, matching his eyes, with an undershirt that looked slightly blue-green with a matching sash. Kai's was red, with a maroon-colored undershirt and sash. They too wore black gloves.

"Why am I always in black?" Cole grumbled as he stalked into sight, clad head to toe in black, expect for his slate gray sash. He glared at Emily, but nonetheless, he grabbed the last pair of combat boots, and began tying them.

"Don't you have one?" Zane asked Emily.

"Yeah, but I'll change later," she replied. "It's a little…short, and I forgot to bring a pair of leggings."

"What do you have against miniskirts?" Cole inquired, standing up, "you've got the perfect form for those, and skinny jeans." Zane randomly noticed that his rather broad shoulders were always pulled back and straight, as if commander-in-chief of a large army.

"Just because I have the perfect form for miniskirts doesn't mean that I should wear things that show so much of my legs," Emily replied, "because those are inappropriate, no matter what society says. But unless I have leggings on, you will never see me in a miniskirt. I'm not expecting you to like it, but I do expect you four to respect it."

Emily really was the most interesting female Zane had ever met. She had high expectations and goals that challenged her and the others, even if they were ignorant about what they were. Zane also respected her decision on her choice of clothing. He also sensed that Emily was not one to wear short-shorts, skimpy swimwear, and low-cut tops without a tank-top or undershirt. She truly did respect her body.

"What are we first going to learn about for training?" Zane asked.

"Well, I _was_ thinking about the bond between you and your dragon, but then I decided not to," Emily said, "that's a conversation for another day. So, how about learning about your Golden Weapons? That's also an interesting subject."

"And you're okay with letting a sixteen-year-old teach us?" Kai asked. Sensei nodded.

"Until battle training," Sensei said, "then I will take over."

"Well, this'll be interesting," Jay admitted, leaning casually against the main mast. Emily threw the blue-clad male a look that told him to shut up, or else.

"Fortunately, the past about the Golden Weapons isn't as long as the dragons, but it is still very long, just a head's up," Emily said. Taking a deep breath, she began to speak.

* * *

**Okay, since we know about the Golden Weapons, I'm just gonna leave it at that and skip it in the next chapter. (Emily doesn't have a Golden Weapon, FYI. I'll get to the reason about that later on.)**

**I'm considering about adding the Serphantine, but that will just make it all the longer. Besides, if you have the Serphantine, then you have to add the Great Devourer in with it too. And when that happens, you need Garmadon and him stealing the four Golden Weapons, and making the MegaWeapon with them. _However_, with the lack of the Golden Weapons, then they get to go to the Dark Island and get their K-X outfits and their awesome elemental blades. But, as much as I like the elemental blades, the Golden Weapons are better. But if you want me to add the Serphantine, review or PM me to let me know. If you think I should just skip the snakes, then review or PM me to let me know.**

**And with that said, have a good day/night, fav/follow, peace, and have a good weekend. I'll hurry on the next chapter so the wait won't be as long (hopefully).**


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